Computer Models Show How Crop Production Increases Soil Nitrous Oxide Emissions
Published:16 Feb.2022 Source:Iowa State University
A recent ecosystem modeling study conducted by Iowa State University scientists shows how crop production in the United States has led to an increase in the emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, throughout the last century.
The researchers drew on massive amounts of data on everything from weather patterns to soil conditions to land use and agricultural management practices in order to feed the model and quantify changes in nitrous oxide emissions from soils in the United States. The research, published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Global Change Biology, break soil emissions down by ecosystem types and major crops and found that the expansion of land devoted to agriculture since 1900 and intensive fertilizer inputs have predominantly driven an overall increase in nitrous oxide emissions.